Definition

A number or code assigned to uniquely identify a group of records or materials acquired by a repository and used to link the materials to associated records.

Source: Society of American Archivists, Dictionary of Archives Terminology.

Introduction

An accession number uniquely identifies an archival accession and the corresponding accession record.

Related terms

Accession

Accession record

Accessioning

Collection ID

Reference Code

Learning Resources

• Reading list: Accessioning

Dalhousie Libraries documentation

See Section 2 of the Archives Procedure Manual for information on accessioning at the Dalhousie University Archives.

See the ArchivesSpace software manual for information on how to create and maintain accession records.